At hosting.com, we know developers are the backbone of the web. This Developer Day, we’re spotlighting the people who make the internet work. Meet our lead front-end developer Matthew Gardiner, a coffee-fueled problem solver who knows what it takes to keep sites running smooth.

Coffee first, code later

“Always coffee — and at least one before I can function in the morning,” they admit. Once that first cup kicks in, the day starts with a quick check of emails and Microsoft Teams. “I want to see if anything urgent came up overnight before diving in.”

The myth about knowing it all

“A common misconception is that developers know everything about coding. The reality? The coding space is massive. Even as a full-stack developer, there’s always more to learn.”

Finding the flow (and losing it)

Morning standup done. Messages cleared. That’s when the real coding begins. “Once that’s out of the way, I’m ready to focus. The only thing that knocks me out of the zone? An urgent bug. When that happens, you drop everything and fix it.”

The big win moment

Ask any developer — those breakthroughs matter. For our lead dev, it was a recent multi-language implementation. “It was a large piece of work and seeing it all come together felt great.”

The tool they can’t live without

No hesitation here: Laravel Herd. “It makes local development quick and painless. I couldn’t work without it.”

Keeping up with a fast-moving industry

“Tech moves so fast, it’s almost impossible to keep up. I follow YouTube, Reddit, and Discord channels to stay on top of the changes that matter to the tools we use every day.”

If they could change one thing…

“One browser for everyone — or at least browsers that work exactly the same. Waiting for feature adoption across multiple browsers? Frustrating.”

How they switch off

After a long day of code, the solution is simple: “Getting outside and walking my dog.”

Developers are at the heart of everything we build at hosting.com. From performance-focused infrastructure to the tools that make your life easier, we’re here for the people who create the web. This day, and every day, we’re celebrating you.